vwdave

I am building up my L98 finally. This is a completely budget job, so keep that in mind.

-I have a 88 L98 block.
-I am going to bore it .030 and put in a set of speed-pro forged pistons/rings. (Budget I told you.)
-10:1 Compression
-I have a set of Eagle ESP H-Beams 5.700" w/ARP bolts
-I want to retain my stock low miles crankshaft.
-ARP bolts on 2-bolt mains.
-Aftermarket 8" balancer (Undecided)
-All coated bearings.
-Everything is going to be completly balanced.

Assuming my valvetrain can keep up, roughly what should my redline be? I would LOVE to have it at 7k, but I am fairly sure it wont like it much. I want a higher redline so I can take complete advantage of the rest of my setup and have a nasty top end charge to be able to run cars down at the end of the track.

Air_Adam

What kind of redline are you looking for? Redline as a shift point, or redline as a parts-through-the-pan point?

Those will be two very different RPMs.

vwdave

Redline blow to pieces. Depending on cam I can make my engine peak between 6200-6800.

Supervisor42

The bottom end should be fine to 7K+ if it's balanced right.
The valvetrain keeping up with it will be the problem.
Is this a "track only" car?

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

budget - and forged pistons & H beams, coated bearings, fully balanced? Doesn't sound too budget to me.
If it's going to be over 6000RPM often, get an SFI damper ($$$).
Yea, I think valvetrain or induction will be what stops you from destroying the bottom end, as long as it's balanced, it'll be fine.

You can pay an extra $50 to go to studs instead of bolts, for the mains, and/or different main caps. Even splayed. etc.

My 2cents is to pay special attention to the valve train - ie, witness marks on the valve tip, lightweight valves and rockers (7/16") and quality, custom length pushrods. It's not that pricey, and will help valvetrain stability mucho. Along with conical springs.

vwdave

H-beams on ebay cost me $300. The Forged pistons are $340. Coated bearings arent as much as you would think. I also send alot of work to a local machine shop so I get a discounted rate on everything.

I already own a set of AFR 195's which are CNC ported, Comp cams 995 dual springs, 10* locks/retainers which are steel. The valves are upgraded ones from AFR (I was going to turbo the engine, but decided its not in my best interest at this time.) Intake is a Weiland single plane converted to EFI.

I know it sounds expensive to you, but my idea of expensive is $2000 on a rotating assembly.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Well, you're not paying much for the rotating assembly, but a fair bit for the top end. I figured if you're going cheap, it'd be a cheap top end as well. Anyway, no matter...

Planning to use a hydraulic or solid roller ? Rev kit?

vwdave

Got the AFR's new on ebay for $800. Parents bought it for xmas 05'. $600 for all the misc cylinder head stuff.

Hydraulic Roller. Probably something in the 220*-225* duration and .510 lift range. I bought the Comp Cams rev kit.

The only thing I am worried about with my heads, is the 3/8" rocker studs. I am not really sure if they make 7/16" rockers for centerbolt heads.

How this all came about is a long weird story. I overheated my engine during my TPI swap and ran the car for a year, and the cooling problems got worse. Come to find out I warped my heads. My parents offered to buy me a set of AFR's to Christmas/Birthday. So, I found a set and bought them. At the time I was going to install them with a HSR and call it a day. But since then I fell in love with the idea of a twin turbo setup. I was going to do it on a budget and rebuilt my iron heads and keep the AFR's for the really high dollar, purpose built engine. That idea went out when I found out the stock block can only hold 500hp or so.

My fabricator turned out to be a douchebag so I scrapped the TT idea for now. That and the prices of things were mounding up on me.

I want the car to haul ***. I had the single plane from a previous project that never happened. Its $350 to have it converted. I just have TONS of contacts in racing from working in a high performance shop and producing some of the fastest VW's in south florida. I have a set of 42# injectors from another project, FPR from a project, etc etc etc.

So, I plan on spending a little more and just run it all motor till I can afford to build a high dollar turbo shortblock.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Gotcha. That's a heck of a deal on AFR's. Maybe i'll ask for that for my grad present

220-225* probably won't get you that high in the RPM range. I'm just thinking about my flat tappet cam, but I suppose with a roller cam the duration @.050 leads to a different rev range.

Sounds like you've got the top end down. I think you're right with the center bolt heads. If you've got 3/8" rockers now, might as well stick with them. Use a stud girdle like... uhh, BDR's? B&T? I forget the company, but they make torque convertors, it's a 2-3 letter acronym. Their girdle is only like $70 or something, and it's a good one, usually you pay a lot more. Ask IHI.

Are you planning on re-using some of this shortblock down the road when you do the turbo shortblock? Then you could always get some of the high end parts and just carry them over, rather then having to pay 1/2 price for midgrade stuff now, then full price for the top stuff later eh?

vwdave

1. They are bare, so I had to assemble them. I ended up spending $1400 for $2000 heads. I wish I knew the history on them. Everything looks like they havent been run, but maybe they were mockups or something. I almost want to send them out to be flowed and see how they compair to AFR's numbers.

2. A LT4 HOT cam is 218/224* and .525" with 1.6's. The .510 I quoted was with 1.5's. My springs can supposedly take a little over .600.

3. You mean B&M?

4. Reusing? No. Alot of the theorys in making a good boost engine and a good NA engine is completely different. Mostly the Pistons and cam. But I will probably go with a aftermarket block and such. That might not be for 5-8 years. Who knows....

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

nope, BTE actually
Online Catalog - Transbrakes, valve body, mini-starters - BTE Racing

vwdave

Most likely those will not fit centerbolt heads. I'll end up researching it some more.

vwdave

I looked around, doesnt look like they will fit with centerbolt heads. I'll just have to use ARP studs and hope for the best.

The XE276HR is looking kinda promising with my setup.

todd200

My brother and one of my friends are both running 7/16 studs with stock center bolt valve covers. They will fit, but you will have to cut out the supports inside the valve cover. I'll see if there is anything else you have to do to run them and let you know.

vwdave

Oh I know you can run those. I was talking about stud girdles. Problem is, is that I already have Comps' Pro Magnums for centerbolts. Thats not something I REALLY want to have to re-purchase if I dont absolutely have to.

todd200

My bad. Guess I scanned a little too quickly.

vwdave

Nah, its ok.